In February 2018 HQ power, the first private company to establish a peat power plant in Africa and to produce peat at that scale distinguished its self as the winner of the Africa Power Deal of the Year in the Infrastructure Journal (IJ) Global Awards 2017 for its 80MW peat to power project. In total, 33 awards were presented. The Hakan Peat project is aimed at improving access to electric power in Rwanda will provide electricity to a big percent of the country’s population. The company is owned by a Turkish investor, HAKAN AS, and an international power company, Quantum Power, with a participation of a project development company Themis Counts and the support of the lead arranging bank, Africa Finance Corporation. “We are delighted to be named the winner of this award and by being distinguished as a global drive aiding in addressing Africa’s severe energy issues. This Project will be highly beneficial to most communities in Rwanda, not in the financial savings gained from the reduction of the imported energy project only, but also because of the overall socio-economic benefits” said Dov SAVIDOR Chief Operations Officer of HQ power. Although the country is one of the fastest-growing economies, only 43% of the population has reliable access to electricity. The power project dubbed the ‘Project’ is valued at 350 million US dollars. It has been scheduled for completion after 3 years and is in one of Rwanda’s remote areas, the Gisagara District. Upon completion, it will increase the country’s installed capacity by 40 percent. History of HQ power in Rwanda Works on the peat plant started in Rwanda where ground breaking ceremony took place in Gisagara District on 9th May 2017. The Minister of Infrastructure, Honorable James Musoni together with other Officials and various partners on the project broke the ground at the construction site in Mamba Sector alongside Akanyaru River. During the ground-breaking, the Minister of Infrastructure, Hon. Musoni James, Minister of State for Energy and Water Hon. Germaine Kamayirese attended the function. Others present were Mr. Ahmet Karasoy, Managing Director of Hakan AS, Mr.Hakan Karasoy, Chief Executive Office of Hakan AS and Mr.Matty Vengerik Co-founder. The Director of Quantum Power laid the foundation for the 80MW peat to power plant in Gisagara. This project is a synergy with other strategic projects that Rwanda has invested in, and is expected to bring more energy independence to our country” said the Minister of Infrastructure, Honorable James MUSONI during the groundbreaking ceremony back in 2017. The project is estimated to create more than 1,500 jobs in its first phase of construction, which will last three years while 200 others will get jobs during operation. These jobs will directly impact positively the livelihood of the Gisagara District residents and Rwandans in general. The 80MW Peat-Fired Power Plant will be constructed alongside Akanyaru River, Mamba Sector, Gisagara District bordering Burundi under a Build Operate, Own and Transfer (BOOT) basis with a 26 year of Power Purchase Agreement. It involves construction and operations of both peat harvesting facilities and power generation facilities. The Project has a second phase, which has an additional 40MW of capacity.
